This story was published in Volume 1, Issue 1
By: Rue Murray
When Luke Klaus was eight years old, he started to feel sick and asked his teacher if he could go home from school. A call ushered his father to pick him up. Hoping to cheer up the boy, his father turned on the radio when Rush’s “Working Man” emanated from the speakers.
Soon, they were windows down, radio all the way up, speeding. Suddenly, their joyride was interrupted by flashing red and blue lights.
“It was electric from the start,” Klaus said, adding that at first all he and his father could do was laugh.
This memory was a gateway drug for Klaus, kickstarting his passion for retro aesthetics, music and technology.
The University of Colorado Boulder junior is majoring in aerospace engineering with a music minor. He joined a rush of Gen Zers looking for fun and identity in old tech. From collecting vinyl records and CDs to sporting vintage clothing, there is a steady surplus of analog options to choose from.
While it’s part sheer fascination with retro, it’s also something of a reaction to the plethora of technology the generation has inherited. Now, worries arise as the evolution of artificial intelligence has caused mixed feelings within the population about its integration.
Now, worries arise among some young people as artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into everyday life.
These days, Klaus’ room is littered with classic rock posters, various instruments and rocket-themed trinkets.
“I started listening to classic rock and I was like, ‘This is awesome,’” he said. “And so, I decided this is going to be my personality for the next month.”
Rock became his personality for more than a month and continues to impact the way in which he lives. Klaus owns his beloved Walkman cassette player that he plugs into a modern pair of headphones, blending a love for the new and old. He has music streaming services downloaded like Spotify but has his own reservations on its usage.
“Spotify is incredibly too convenient,” he deadpanned, adding that it can also detract from the personal connection between the artist and the listener.
“I’ll pick vinyl records from my favorite bands because it’s like I’m immersed in their realm,” Klaus said.
Sky Hume also grew up listening to music on retro technologies such as radio and cassettes but part of that contributed to where she grew up.
“I lived in the middle of nowhere in Kansas until I was nine, so I didn’t even have a movie theater near me,” she said.
Upon leaving her hometown, Hume held onto her traditions and embraced what she knew best. She feels at home with CDs in her possession, catalyzing her to amass a 70-plus collection.
Playing CDs became second nature for her but was foreign to her friends who were accustomed to listening through their phones.
“I remember listening to the radio and my friends would give me crap for having the radio on in my car because they’d rather listen to a Spotify playlist,” Hume said.
In addition to her surplus of CDs and other analog music mediums, she now collects vinyl records. Hume believes that although vinyl collecting is now popular among Gen Z, not all of them actually tune in to what they’ve collected.
“Disclaimer,” she said. “I do actually listen to them.”
Whether the records come in contact with a needle or not, there is still a large number of Gen Z who collect them, and often at that. The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts found that 76% of Gen Z vinyl fans purchase it at least once a month, creating a resurgence in vinyl consumption.
This dynamic has bolstered Boulder’s Paradise Found Records, where Sean Rourke, assistant manager and Gen Xer, has followed vinyl’s popularity throughout the years as the rise of digital media began to erase its physical counterpart.
“All of our physical media went away and we started streaming,” Rourke said. “But Gen Z recognized that something was missing.”
Rourke believes that another appeal vinyl brings to the next generation is the experience of listening to an album in full instead of picking specific songs on a streaming service. According to him, Gen Z is starting to understand the appeal and appreciate a comprehensive album.
“When it’s time to get serious about the artist, they are sitting down with a vinyl or cassette and they’re taking the deep dive,” he said. “They’re listening from A to Z.”
When it comes to why Gen Z is so fascinated with older aesthetics, Rourke reflects on a time in the store when he overheard a customer debating why the 1980s did not sustain its musical impact as much as the 60s or 70s. Rourke believed he had the answers.
“It’s because it was a time of excess,” he explained. “We had no problems like gas crises or wars.”
Rourke said the current environment brings higher political tensions and a sense of hopelessness for some. Finding solace in older times, when hope was in excess, may be why Gen Z holds onto retro aesthetics. And while modern technology is accessible and used by many, if not all, of Gen Z, there is still an appeal to the aesthetics of simpler times.
“The technologies now are what they cut their teeth on and what’s been made available, but they also recognize that there’s something else,” he said. “When it’s time to get serious, old school happens.”
Similar to older music, vintage or secondhand clothing has also appealed to Gen Z given its ability to add visual aesthetics that would not be found in modern clothing design.
A study by WGSN found that 40% of Gen Z shop secondhand, as the styles they love are not found in typical retail stores.
“I genuinely can’t think of a fast fashion store that I would go into and think ‘Yes this is my style,’” Hume said.
Dressing the part completes the retro look and lifestyle, causing enthusiasts to seek clothing matching that aesthetic. With the popularity of vintage and retro clothing growing, however, prices have followed suit.
“The aesthetic has so much attention that people are marking up the prices,” Klaus said. “Now it’s 150 bucks and it’s popular so it loses its niche vintage value.”
“Go out and touch grass”
While vintage clothing has risen to the top of the Gen Z priority list, recent technologies have continued to progress and evolve.
Generative AI companies like ChatGPT have created large language models that quickly answer any prompt or question. There is a level of convenience to AI, but its development is not advanced enough to get every question right.
Perspectives on AI vary and it seems a large portion of Gen Z has their doubts. In a web survey done by the Walton Family Foundation and GSV Ventures in 2023, 53% of Gen Z adults said they felt anxious about AI.
“AI absolutely undermines human creativity for the exchange of convenience and lack of thought,” Klaus said. “It’s inadvertently harming humans.”
Rourke has a slightly grimmer point of view on AI, understanding its possible negative impacts.
“I’ll admit I’m almost a conspiracy theorist on this: I think AI is going to be our downfall,” Rourke said. “Anyone who’s watched ‘Terminator’ or ‘I, Robot’ should know better.”
Technology will continue to evolve with modern developments and discoveries, but retro ideals and aesthetics have persevered time after time.
Regardless, Rourke believes that technologies’ rudimentary purposes should be understood and that time should be taken to reflect on the simpler priorities of retro times.
“Technology is a tool and nothing more,” Rourke said. “Go out and touch the grass.”
